America Tells Hollywood to Get Lost

For many, many, many members of the film industry (almost entirely Hollywood) and a crazy amount of artists and musicians in general, the morning of  November 6, 2024 had to be something like the scene from Apocalypse Now, when  Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore says: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Nothing else in the world smells like that.” Only the opposite. Hollywood fell into conformist formation, worshiping the Democratic candidate and forgetting that their craft has little or nothing to do with politics but rather with something that seemed to matter little or nothing to them: the American people, their audience. People who buy tickets to see their movies, attend their concerts; those who pay subscriptions to streaming platforms to see any ridiculous thing they release or the latest song they want to turn into a hit. 

It was as if the artists forgot what they are to become political spokespersons, and not even spokespersons for politics in general. No. This year was the year that Hollywood signed up for a political party and closed lines against anyone who was on the other side. Which other side? The one who wasn’t supporting Kamala Harris. 

And the parade began with the queen of these types of conspiracies, Oprah, who is like the high priestess in terms of what celebrities are supposed to do. And already at this point, everything sounds not only ridiculous but impossible to believe, but it was and is real.

The Art

What is art, if not the purest manifestation of creativity, of human empathy; the mirror that reflects who we are as individuals and makes us confront precisely what we represent as a society? Bertolt Brecht believed that art should be didactic and encourage the public to think objectively. Well, obviously we are talking about another era.

But when we see, as we did, inside and outside the United States, this maelstrom that included (I only have the opportunity to mention a few names) writers like Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Stephen King… What the hell did I care if Stephen King supported Kamala? Nobody asked to read that horror!; singers like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, John Legend, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, wait, Willie Nelson? And the list of performers goes on and on, just check it out on Rolling Stone; then actors and actresses and directors and… let’s just call it “Hollywood”, to summarize all those names in one (here is the list of some of them). Also guys like Geraldo Rivera and the former King of All Media, Howard Stern (this is very funny) and so on.

This all seemed like when Bob Geldof had these crazy ideas that he’s going to save the planet; will fix the problem of climate change; will feed the starving children of Africa or cure AIDS or achieve world peace by putting a bunch of rich artists and bands on a stage. I am not against any initiative that can help someone, I am against the fact that, in the case of these presidential elections, artists have created a front of hate; They were like the Sith, thinking in absolutes.

It was almost a caricature to watch some talk shows. Don’t get me started on The View, which is like the reunion of all my former mothers-in-law exuding hate against those who did not support their candidate.

It’s sad to realize that this just happened. But maybe necessary. Perhaps even a harsh revelation about what is ultimately an industry run by very defined interests.

The thing is we are in the middle of a new generation that does NOT know nor want to know anything about something called history, who only lives in the fleeting present of social media and whose only messages that remain recorded in their minds (apart from memes) are those that come from their favorite artists… and athletes, who could care that LeBron James also scored on Kamala’s behalf?

Hollywood turned its back on the country. And let me tell you something we all know, even those of us who are not Americans, is that the United States is an, enormous country and Hollywood, in some way, stands for the dreams, ideals, hopes, visions and entertainment of the majority, whether legal or not, of people living in the States. To satisfy political desires, we have… um, politicians. For silly songs that millions like, we have Taylor Swift. This is how the society works. We are one world. Not one political party. 

True, Hollywood joined a political agenda with the purpose of convincing the country of something…and the country, more united than ever, responded loud and clear. And this is a lesson: don’t underestimate the American people, because you’re going to lose. Sorry for you, Hollywood. You’ve lost this round.